How long for air consumption to improve?

[Nemrod]

On the whole "hands are not propulsion" thing, is this also true on the service? I rarely used fins before diving, and my open water class did little on teaching proper fin use when not submerged, so I'm not really sure on the best way to surface swim. What I've been doing is lying on my back (I dive a BP/W), fully inflating the BC to lift me as high out of the water as I can to reduce drag, and then finning and using my hands to paddle towards my hips, but this seems very inefficient. Thoughts on surface swimming technique?

When scuba diving fins are your only propulsion, up, down, back, around, underwater or on the surface, 100% of the time. Your hands are for holding things like lights, cameras, tools or if not doing any of that then cross them or hold them crossed out front. On the surface if swimming on your back, cross them over your tummy. Do not fully inflate your BC.

You do not knuckle walk, that is one of the many things that the last little 2% difference in human DNA vs chimp DNA, they knuckle walk, we do not. Scuba diving, use your legs, do not be a chimp and hand swim . Once in a blue moon when a current runs you toward the reef and nobody is looking you can do a one finger push off on a bare spot, okay, then 99.999% of the time, fins only.

 

[SouthernSharktoothDiver]

Wait, do not fully inflate my BC at the surface? Why not? My figuring was more buoyancy=less of me in the water=less drag. Does inflating it all the way increase the drag?

 

[dmaziuk]

Wait, do not fully inflate my BC at the surface? Why not? My figuring was more buoyancy=less of me in the water=less drag. Does inflating it all the way increase the drag?

It won't matter for practical purposes. You're going to have the wing, the tank, the hoses, and the kitchen sink down there either way. Getting your torso out of the water completely will reduce the drag somewhat, but if you really want to get somewhere fast: ditch the gear, including mask and snorkel, and swim front crawl.

 

[RobPNW]

Try counting on your breaths- count to 4 in, count to 4 out etc. Pick a count that's comfortable for you. Do that and focus on your breathing for a few dives. After a while you won't even think about it.

 

[Gone for diving]

Think sleepy when diving, it really works.
And move without wasting movements.
It is amazing how much leg movement new divers do... once you see it, its impossible to unsee.

Your problem justifies more diving

 

[WillieJustice]

I completely sympathize. I am also a new diver, sneaking up on 30 dives now. I generally tell dive buddies that I will be the person who runs out of air first. Last dive, I had 1000 psi left when we surfaced. I was pretty surprised when the DM said we were headed up and I had so much air left. I use hp 100s when I can get them. I will be buying a couple of them this week. That is for cold water diving. Warm water diving, I use whatever, usually aluminum 80s.

I have found that drysuit diving uses more air. Probably a no brainer right there, but it wasn't obvious to me. In tropical water, my burn rate was getting almost acceptable.

Then there is the whole buoyancy and trim thing. I got my own gear so that I could figure out proper weighting. It is taking time and diving. I expect to have a drysuit in another few months so diving on a random Wednesday can be a thing. Lots of diving is a heavy burden and all, but somebody has to do it.

For comparison purposes, I am 64, about 5'-10" and 195 lbs, and spend time in the gym. Resting heart rate is in the mid-50s, but ramps up in a hurry when I am active. That is a prime body for the don't move so much advice.

 

[RobPNW]

This may sound counterintuitive but some of the people who are the most athletic use more gas under water. More muscle metabolizes more O2 even at rest. That’s why many people recommend resistance training over cardio for weight control. Might be relevant for some folks regarding this topic.

 

[Still Kicking]

This may have already been mentioned but new divers are naturally excited to be underwater and their heart rate is elevated, so air consumption is higher even though you are fit and have a low resting heart rate.

When your heart rate at 60 feet is the same as it is sitting on the couch watching a movie, your SAC will come down. As others said, it's all about time underwater.

 

[brsnow]

It will improve when you stop thinking about it.

 

[FreqFlier]

Trim, then weighting, then realizing hands are not propulsion.

It took my dive buddy (and my wife) about 100 dives to realize that. She's developing gills now.